Day 13. Saturday August 26 Kahshapiwi to Keefer to Sark 7.53 miles and 2 portages (13R-80R)

The wind howled all night making the tent creak noisily, while the beavers danced-Kerplunk-under the cliff below us. What are they up to? The combo created a rather restless night, especially for Tony. We awoke to dense cloud cover and a NW wind. We got up around 700am and had Ova eggs and shelf stable bacon for breakfast. Lightweight and tasty (really) and quick. We’re gonna add it more frequently on our next trips. We launched at about 930am and paddled toward Keefer catching a few bass and checking out a few campsites along the way for future reference. We hopped over the portage to Keefer and fished along for a while catching mostly bass and Tony hooking into a couple of walleye in a W-hole near an island.

We had lunch at a 1-star desperation camp on Keefer with the wind coming up and clouds darkening so we decided to make a beeline for Sark and find a camp before the weather hit. The north end of Keefer is very pretty with many islands and boulders. The Sark portage is on the left not the right as the McKenzie map indicates, though otherwise it is a typical, rocky Quetico portage. We threw the line in on the Sark side for more bass and then paddled hard to the 5-star island camp with the wind and the rain gaining on us. We just got the tent up and were tying the last tarp lines when the squall line hit us (230pm). Huddled under the center of the tarp, we played cards and drank hot chocolate while the wind and rain swirled around us. It was really socked in and the weather was damp and raw. We hunkered down until about 600pm in our puffies and fleece hats getting progressively colder until we decided to whip up some smoked guyere and tortilla appetizers which warmed us right up. About 630 it stopped raining and wind lessened a little. We had chicken fajitas and rice for dinner followed by tea and iced oatmeal cookies for dessert. By now we were starting to feel quite a bit warmer. We got up and battened down the camp and walked around some to warm up. This is a very open and pleasant island with lots of little trails and views in all directions. Bet it would be gorgeous if the sun was out ? We hit the tent around 830pm for reading and such as the rain began again. And it rained all night.

Day 14. Sunday August 27. Sark Lake. Slug Camp #2.

The return of the slugs. We woke up around 600am to, you guessed it, rain and slugs. Slugs on the tent-slugs in the shoes-slugs in the mugs-slugs well, you get the picture. We sat under the CCS tarp and had cheesy hash browns and sausage for breakfast with our hot drinks. Weather Report: Lots of low clouds and p*ssing down rain.

We detest breaking down a wet camp so we sat around discussing our trip thus far and playing cards. I tried to get Tony to play slug races but it was a no go. Ya know, draw a big circle and put about ten slugs inside and see which one makes it out first. “I’m telling you, they are deceptively fast.” Anyway, that took all morning and then we had a light lunch at 1230pm after which Tony went to the tent to read and napped for a while. Being the restless type, I couldn’t bear the thought of going back in there so I fished from shore for hour catching about 12-18 small bass in the now lightening rain, the largest being about 14 inches. Tony roused about 230pm and by now the sky was still shrouded in low dark clouds but it was only drizzling so we decided to take the boat out fishing. We fished from 3 to 6pm catching a couple of dozen small and medium sized bass and trolling up a four larger fish that we failed to land ? We are blaming this on hypothermia. Then at 700pm right in front of camp I caught a large fat bass to close out the day. We ate fish chowder and buttery pan-fried biscuits in the misty darkness hoping for a decent day tomorrow as we need to move on.

Day 15 Monday August 28 Sark to Cairn to Heronshaw to Kahshahpiwi Creek to Kawnipi Yard Sale Camp

10.95 miles and 4 portages ( 94R-37R-36R-4R)

It didn’t rain much in the night and we awoke to a misty, damp, and humid morning, but there was no wind and it was much warmer. We got up and had a quick breakfast while we wrung out and packed up a drenched camp. Everything was damp and clingy. . .We launched a 930am, just the two of us and an unknown number of slugs tucked away in nooks and crannies. We paddled up Sark on tranquil seas and caught a few bass at likely spots where streams were trickling in and at the lake’s end near the portage. We made the well-used trek into Cairn and paddled up the lake without fishing, admiring the islands.

An eagle flew over our head and a loon surfaced just short of our bow. We had lunch at a small point camp that would make a nice stop over if you wanted to try your luck fishing for a day or two on Cairn. We crossed the short portage into Heronshaw as the skies started to lift a bit. We cruised past an island camp occupied by a solo traveler setting up camp and spreading out his gear to dry. We commiserated on the three days of wet weather as we stroked to the end of the lake. We chose to make the 36R portage noted as “swampy” on our map and yes, it is. It was not well traveled and ended in a mosquito infested-knee-deep-muddy-brushy-bog. The saving grace was that it was short and followed by a rapid, that we walked our boat through washing the beaver much off our bodies. We proceeded through a shallow, clear and rocky section with many large bass visible, but they were on to us and left the biting to their smaller brethren. About this time (230pm) the sky was full of large blue holes and sun shone down on us brightening our spirits. The clouds cleared as we paddled down Kahshahpiwi Creek admiring the scenic wilderness waterway. Soon we were at the bottom of the falls with the option to take the short portage (4R) to the north end of Kawnipi. First, we spent about an hour pulling walleye and bass (large) out of pools near the take out. What fun! All were returned to the water and we crossed the portage in brilliant sunshine and made a camp on a small island nearby (430pm). We immediately strung a line and dried our tent and tarp and spread everything out for a couple of hours. This was followed by a quick swim. It’s amazing how a feeling clean (semi) and dry can brighten your attitude. We had a dinner of chicken, gravy and cornmeal stuffing followed by mocha mousse pie. Tony relined his reel and we tied on new hooks and lures in preparation for tomorrow’s fishing expedition. We were forced into the tent early by marauding mosquitoes at 730pm. Apparently the combination of rain and warmth has activated them. We played gin for a while and then some reading and on to sleep. Feeling dry, for now.